Christmas Crafties

Do you ever notice strange trends that you create unknowingly? Like a tendency to buy purple clothes? I discovered I have an overabundance of red and white yarn, so I used it to decorate our mantel! Cheaper than buying more decorations, right? :) Below you can see a bunch of yarny goodness, including a sweater sleeve from a thrift store find that I prompty bought and took apart. Even my drop spindle had red wool on it, so it found a home in my "snowpile" of white wools!
The rest of that thrift shop sweater turned into a pillow cover. I whipped up another festive pillow made from 2 log cabin squares from a quilt square swap earlier this year (recognize them, BK?)

As if all this crafting goodness isn't enough, THIS amazing creation was made by a wonderful cooking-friend of ours (who are the best kind to have around Christmas!). This is way beyond my skils. Don't you love the little meringue toadstools? It tasted every bit as good as it looks!

And then there are the handknits. It is so satisfying to sit with wood needles and some wool and create something that will warm a loved one. These thick socks went to Steve, who has learned that when one receives a handknit gift, one must immediately put it on and prance around with glee. (We're still working on the prancing around bit, but he was very happy to get SOCKS!)